


But Friendship Never Ends

by Burrahobbit



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Bonding, Character Study, Developing Friendships, Forgetful old man Merle, Gen, Merle-centric, spoilers for episode 63
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-02
Updated: 2017-06-02
Packaged: 2018-11-08 00:55:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 453
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11070678
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Burrahobbit/pseuds/Burrahobbit
Summary: It's a little embarrassing, and weird, andPan, Merle must be the worst person ever, but-But...This, whatever he has with the Hunger - John - it's... nice. He doesn't want to lose it.





	But Friendship Never Ends

**Author's Note:**

> I just... randomly wanted to write this.  
> Also, just a warning, I haven't listened to the episode in a few days, so this is all from memory. Forgive me if anything's wrong.

It starts out innocently. They need more information on the Hunger, and this is the only way they can communicate with it.

The first few years, Merle immediately jumps back into the Parley, ready to talk to John again. After that, his friends insist he stay.

 _It's been_ years, _Merle,_ they insist. _We miss you._

Alright, maybe not in those exact words, with a lot of excuses for why he needs to stay mixed in, but Merle gets what they're saying.

He may be dense, but he's not _that_ dense.

So, at the end of each year, he goes into that eerily still office room and interrogates the Hunger, this dark, all-consuming plane that's been eating dimensions whole.

Except, he's not. His conversations with John are civilized, and it's harder and harder to connect him to the dark entity chasing them.

He tells the rest of the crew what happens each time. Magnus complains that he's giving away too much and not getting enough information.

Merle will admit that, sometimes, while he's in Parley, he'll forget he's supposed to be getting information, and he wonders if his memory is worsening even without aging at all anymore.

 

It gets out of hand, but slowly.  
Bit by bit, the cleric can feel himself warming up to John. They play chess, and ask each other questions, and it's so-

_Civil._

Eventually, Merle stops telling the crew every detail, and only tells them when he finds important things out. This lifts some of the weight off of him.

Some meetings, he forgets John is supposed to be their enemy. This, however, he doesn't think is just his old brain's mistake.

 

One time - Merle doesn't know until after that it's the last time - he comes up with the question he wants to ask after John has already asked something.

"Are you my friend?"

And Merle had come to the conclusion long ago that he was in way too deep, but the question solidifies this in a way that makes Merle nervous of what the answer will be.

The man pauses, bewildered, then lifts his hand, flames coming to life around it. Merle doesn't even feel the flames before he brings the hand back down and stares out the window.

Then he does this whole monologue thing about the pointlessness of love, and life, and how everything's bad.

_Boo hoo._

Merle tells him off.

John kills him, and Merle is happy, for once, to be gone.

He doesn't go back.

Merle misses that friendship, and having someone else besides the crew to talk to over the years.

Even still, he refuses to return.

He can only hope that John will realize his mistake. If not now, then one day.


End file.
